WAFA/Sarah Barnes

I stumbled upon the WAFA collective a little while ago and was super stoked and inspired. WAFA (We Are Fucking Awesome) is composed of artists all over the world and aims to bring people together to inspire and ignite each artists' work; WAFA (We Are Fucking Awesome) is a global artist collective dedicated to the support and development of emerging artists. We are an international network of working artists... Our hope is to bring together a community of artists, united by collaboration, to inspire one another. To have the sense of family and community restored, where we can belong and continue to give value to what we believe in. To have an open dialogue about everything we experience, and the free exchange of ideas, knowledge and tools. Our focus is on collaborative works and initiatives. All work documented on this website was created by two or more artists working together. We have found that collectively we are stronger than individually. Yeah, they are fucking awesome.

One of my faves is Sarah Barnes, a collage artist and embroiderer.

Lovely. Check out this interview with her. And don't miss her beautiful blog.

Crafty Christmas Club

I stumbled upon the Crafty Christmas Club via the super adorable blog Tilly and the Buttons.

It's a super cute blog where Tilly chronicles her adventures in sewing. Anyways, the Crafty Christmas Club is filled with ideas and inspiration for those of us who like to make our presents.

There is seriously so much to look at! I wanna make everything. Check it out. Which project do you want to make? Are you giving handmade this season?

Frances Crafeteria/Urban Beans

This weekend was so fun. First off I started by participating the 5th annual Crafeteria at Frances, Phoenix's best indie craft fair. It was so fun and I met so many cool people! I even had a few folks come up to my booth and tell me they read my blog!! (Hello Ladies!!) It was so so exciting!

I did not exactly have time to get some really good pictures, which is a total bummer cause there was some seriously cute stuff I know y'all would love. I sold upcycled/repurposed grandpy sweaters and fur collars, and doily bowls filled with vintage ornaments. I was honored to display some things Etsy sent us on my booth. It was fun being able to talk to people about Etsy and the handmade movement.

On Sunday we had a booth at Urban Beans, a really good coffee shop here is Phoenix (7th st just North of Osborn. My friends Andrea and Rebecca work there so be sure to say hello!) It was really fun to spend the day surrounded my all the pretty things in our shop, relaxing after a busy weekend. 

Kenny, one of my partners in the GROWop also runs the urban garden that surrounds our shop (I know, I know I seriously need to tell you all about the GROWop and show you pictures). He brought some veggies for us to package and sell. It was so good to be able to just hang out with Kenny and I am so so excited for where the GROWop is going. I think we've got a pretty special team and I am so thankful for my boys : )

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun? Anyone celebrate Hanukkah (is that spelled right?)?

Virtual Craft Night Part 1

I'm so so excited that y'all were down to do a virtual craft night! With the help of the amazing Kara of Sunshine Cupcakes, virtual craft night is just about here.

So here's how it will work. On Friday I will post the DIY on how to make these precious little ghosties. That way you'll have plenty of time to gather up supplies and start working. Monday evening (still working on the time- I'm thinking around 5pm AZ time) we will have a live twitter chat (using the hashtag #merrymay). It is easiest, I've found, to have one tab open with your personal twitter home page and another open to the #merrymay search page (if you have any suggestions please share). During this live chat we can get to know each other, discuss and questions or issues we might have, and share ideas and inspiration! Then you will have a week to finish up your little ghost friend and send pictures to me. Monday October 25th I will post all of our creations here on my blog! Grab a badge ( <---) and tell your friends!

Check out this super cute video my sister and I created! I am so excited.

Needle Felting 101 and Giveaway Winner!

I know you probably just want me to announce who was randomly chosen to win my lil' owly scarf buuuut I thought I should tell you how I made it. My mom, who is working on a super special giveaway for my super special blog buddies (that's you!) that'll be coming soon, got me this fancy little wool scarf. At the time she owned a small shop in downtown Glendale, AZ. She had a studio in the back where she held different classes like rug hooking and needle felting. This was one of my first attempts at needle felting (which should tell you how incredibly fun and easy it is). In order to needle felt you simply need wool roving (basically combed and dyed wool that is also used for spinning yarn)



a felting needle (it's like a long needle with tiny prongs on it that catches and compacts the fibers)

and finally a base (in this case the wool scarf. However you can easily create 3d figures by omitting the base and free form shaping the object with your needle). Both photos are from Peace Fleece.

Easy right? You just put the roving where you want it to be and punch the needle in. To find out more check out this funny lady's video.

So without further adieu.... the winner is Kim from Yellow Songbird! She'll need it for those snowy Colorado winters! Send me your contact info to merrymayhandmade(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll send it right out!

GIVEAWAY time.

I made this wooly scarf a while back and thought it would the perfect Fall-y gift for one of my lovely friends. I embellished the scarf by needle felting a cute little owl girl on it and adding felted flowers. And I'm sure I'll find some more extra special fallish goodies to go along with it!

All you have to do to win is follow my blog (if you don't already) and tell your friends too- facebook it, tweet it (@mmhandmade), blog it. Leave a comment with your email address and the link to your post, tweet, etc. For extra entries, follow me on twitter and on facebook! The winner will be chosen in a week.

Four Simple Goals Revisited

We have decided to do craft night more often and I am so excited. Craft night will now be every other Wednesday (the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month) from 5-8pm at 908 N. 6th Street (at Butter Toast Boutique).

That means A) more time to hang with my favorite crafty folks, and B) built in time for working on my four simple goals.

Goal three was to spend more time being creative. I've been doing pretty good with this goal. In fact, today I printed out a weekly craft journal to make crafting appointments each day.  So, while I spend a lot of time holed up at home creating, its gonna be great to share and be inspired by others.

Goal four was to bake more. Having craft night every other week gives me a reason to make delicious treats. And since my dear friend is vegan, I am really excited to challenge myself to master vegan baking.  Yahoo!

OOOOH Idea! How do you feel about a blog craft night? If your interested let me know by comment or email and I'll work out the logistics : )

I also wanted to extend a warm welcome to new followers. I've gotten quite a few more followers of the past week or so and I'm so excited! Thanks so much for your support. I can't wait to get to know you!

Tattoos

I've been itching for a new tattoo lately.

Maybe its because my friend Jasmine and I keep talking about going or maybe it's the amazing Tattoo Tuesday series over at Sometimes Sweet, which I am obsessed with. I know I want the words "Make Do and Mend" on the inside of my bicep- but that's all I have come up with so far. Any crafty little ideas?

(All of the photos I collected over time and do not know where I got them from. If you know where I found it or who the photo belongs to please let me know so I can give credit where it is due : )

Cereal Box Houses

Boy, am I glad it's the weekend! This week has been crazy busy. I started off the weekend right by grabbing dinner last night with my sweet friends Traci (co-owner of Butter Toast Boutique), her boyfriend Brad, and Amber (who re-purposes vintage and sells her adorable things at Butter Toast). It was such fun to be able to unwind with great people after such a jam-packed week. I woke up this morning with NO agenda and it feels fantastic.

Here's a fun project I found over at Bella Dia. (Wouldn't these be totally adorable for holiday decorations?)

All you need is:

cardboard box from the pantry
straight edge
pencil
scissors
thick white glue
something to score with

Optional:
clamp, clothespins, or painter's
tape for holding pieces until
they dry

Easy peasy. Click here for really great step by step instructions.

What are you doing this weekend? Anything exciting?

Quick and Easy Wardrobe Refresher

In honor of craft night tonight I thought I would post this fun how to I found on the Martha Stewart website. I am a sucker for the cheap canvas grandma sneakers. My sister and her friend dyed their canvas shoes and they turned out really great. You can often find canvas shoes at thrift stores for mere pennies. Super cute, super easy.

Tools and Materials
Large basin or bucket
Liquid fabric dye
Salt (if needed; check dye directions)
White canvas sneakers, laces removed

Dyed Sneakers How-To
1. Fill basin with hot water. Add dye, and salt if specified, to water, following manufacturer's instructions for sink or bucket dyeing.

2. Wet sneakers with hot water, and place in dye bath.

3. Stir for amount of time stated on dye bottle. Rinse as directed.

4. Air-dry shoes, or place in dryer.

5. Clean basin immediately to avoid staining.

P.S. I have this terrible love/hate relationship with Martha (Don't get me started! Lol). I normally am pretty opposed to promoting big corporations and the like; I would much rather promote the amazing DIY , indie community... Please forgive me!